Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) is asking for some help to get the US Government to lift the conditional sail order and allow cruising to resume in the United States by the beginning of July 2021. CLIA set up a webpage for anyone interested in voicing their opinion to their respective elected officials in Congress via email, phone, or twitter all via a form submission. CLIA offers some boilerplate text to get started and a place for you to personalize the message if you so choose.

Much has changed since the CDC issued the Framework for Conditional Sailing Order (CSO) last fall, including the cruise industry’s proven success resuming operations in other parts of the world, where nearly 400,000 passengers have sailed since last summer. With the vaccine rollout gaining momentum and President Biden’s projection that the U.S. will be “closer to normal” by early July, the case for the resumption of cruising in the U.S. has never been stronger.

The CSO, which was issued in October 2020, does not reflect these important developments. More than a year has passed since U.S. cruise operations were suspended and preparing a cruise ship to sail again will take some time—approximately 90 days, to be exact—which means that cruise lines must start planning NOW if they are going to resume operations by July. 

Your voice is IMPORTANT and NEEDED! 

If you are ready to see cruising treated like other sectors of travel and tourism and on track to resume in the U.S. by July 2021, please take a moment to call, email, and/or Tweet your Senators and U.S. Representatives to let them know!

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Call to Action Request (optional archived link)

It has been roughly 5 months since the CDC issued the Conditional Sail Order and they have not provided the cruise lines with the necessary guidance required to take the next step in the multi-step path to a safe and gradual restart of the cruise industry. This was echoed by the leaders of 5 major cruise lines, including the President of Disney Cruise Line on Friday March 26th during a roundtable discussion at Port Canaveral.

No organization is asking for a green light to go full steam ahead, the cruise industry is looking for the CDC to provide the necessary instructions and protocols required in order for the cruise ships to even begin the test phase as outlined in the CSO which was issued last October. In addition to the shutdown’s impact on crew members, there has been a ripple effect in port communities, cruise line’s shoreside operations, and travel agencies and agents who specialize in cruise vacations. All sorts of business from small to gigantic have been negatively impacted by the No Sail Order and the lack of further guidance. After watching the roundtable with cruise executives, it is clear, cruise industry leaders are eager to welcome guests back onboard in a methodical way, and are ready to bring back employees which in turn will bring back the shoreside jobs that support the industry. At this point, the cruise lines simply want guidance to allow them to embark on the voyage back as they are the last remaining travel sector that is not permitted to operate in the United States.

If you are so inclined, I ask you to consider taking this opportunity to to urge your specific elected officials to help restart the cruise industry in the United States. As you can see below, I opted for the twitter approach in addition to the email option.